Juneathon: Day 15

Celebrated Juneathon halfway point with my longest run to date. That's ever, not just during Juneathon. Thought it would be sensible to use this opportunity to do as all the books advise and Practise My Race Strategy. This entails "refuelling", which it would appear does not mean stopping off at the petrol station for a tenner's worth of unleaded, but ingesting various weird and wonderful (legal) substances designed to prevent you from collapsing into a whimpering heap at the halfway point. Accordingly I took a drink with me, which I hardly ever do though I know I should, and my first ever energy gel, since I thought I might well need some extra help during the race and I really ought to try them out.

Strictly speaking, Practising My Race Strategy would have involved running uphill for four miles, since that's basically what the first part of the Stonehaven Half Marathon entails, but I'm not hardcore enough to do that when I don't absolutely have to, so I started with a quick (actually not that quick) lap of the park, back past my house, along to the Bridge of Dee roundabout, along the river to the bigger park, and back up the old railway line. Basically the same route I did on Sunday, but extended at both ends.

Feeling pretty knackered by the 6 mile point (it was quite hot, which didn't help) and decided to give the gel a whirl, which was easier said than done, as ripping off the top of it proved less straightforward than one might think. Then I had to actually swallow the bloody thing which was also easier said than done as it was foul. Think a tenner of petrol would have tasted nicer. I only took about half the packet. However, it did have somewhat of the desired effect as I felt a bit sharper and less like sitting down and not getting up again. Could have been psychological, of course.

Really need to get my head around this refuelling business a bit more. Are there any gels which don't taste horrible?

Distance: 11.18 miles
Time: 1:52:21
Average pace: 10:02
Splits:

• 10:49
• 10:22
• 9:50
• 10:15
• 9:57
• 9:54
• 9:52
• 10:17
• 9:47
• 10:19
• 9:18
• 1:39

Total Juneathon distance run so far: 62.77 miles
Total Juneathon running time so far: 10:19:32